A Guide to Shipping Chocolate

While the winter has been long, and cold, and seeming to never lighten up it has been good for our chocolate shipments. However, now that the seasonal clock is edging closer to warm we all have to start watching weather forecasts for areas we are shipping to–judging whether or not extra protection is needed to keep our delicates safe.

While many of our local customers let us do their shipping to friends and family for them we have many that want to do it themselves so they can add other things to the mix.

Shipping Chocolate, the rules

Quick rule of thumb; chocolate solids usually melt closer to body temperature (80’s+) while ganaches like to melt at room temperature (70’s). If you are doing something special research your melting points so you can be on top of how much cooling might be necessary.

Keep it Cold

Something that is cold to start will stay colder longer. Why waste your cooling energy on making something cold. Keep it refrigerated until the time you need to pack.

Material Needs

A box that is at least 2-3x the size of the gift you are sending.Space allows for crunch room by bad shipping agents as well as keeping heat farther away from the chocolate in your package.

Bubble-wrap mylarIt’s a mylar (silver-colored) coated bubble-wrap that works great as heat deflection and insulator while keeping the product snug.

Cold packsYour transit time and heat through travel is going to dictate the size and amount of these. Usually with a small box (9 X 6.5 X 4) might only need one 2-4oz packet. Remember if your package gets there and the pack is just exhausted you’ve done your job. The contents happily traveled at somewhere in the 50′-60′ range. Putting this little pack in a ziplock or wrapping it in some newspaper will help insure it doesn’t sweat on your package. I would highly suggest USPS Priority or UPS 3 Day select for most summer deliveries, next day for those in places with scorching temperatures.

Packaging Chocolate

Let’s bring it all together. You have your box of chocolates and now a menagerie of items around you for building a shipping container that will go anywhere.

Under best circumstances you will want to do these steps right before you go to your shipping agent. Also find out when the final pickups of the day are with your carrier so you can be there right before they pickup. This all allows for the longest duration of keeping cold during transit.

Build your box

Tape all the seams (to slow air ala heat exchange)

Measure enough mylar wrap for the bottom of your package (one more level of shielding)

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Author Andy

Andy is a jack-of-all trades. Technologist, designer, super palate enabled crazy individual. He is like a madman helping The Secret Chocolatier reach new heights and when he's not doing that, or entertaining his new son, he might be falling out of nearly perfect airplanes.